System and method for monitoring and controlling wind turbines within a wind farm

ABSTRACT

In one aspect, a system for monitoring and controlling the operation of wind turbines located within a wind farm may generally include first and second wind turbines. The first wind turbine may include a first turbine controller configured to monitor an operating parameter(s) associated with the first wind turbine and provide a first control interface for controlling the operation of the first wind turbine. The second wind turbine may include a second turbine controller configured to monitor an operating parameter(s) associated with the second wind turbine and provide a second control interface for controlling the operation of the second wind turbine. The system may also include a secondary computing device coupled to the second turbine controller. The second turbine controller may be configured to provide the secondary computing device access to the first control interface in order to allow the operation of the first wind turbine to be controlled.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present subject matter relates generally to wind turbines locatedwithin a wind farm and, more particularly, to a system and method thatallows for the operation of wind turbines to be monitored and/orcontrolled both remotely via an off-site supervisory control and dataacquisition (SCADA) system and locally via access provided fromindividual turbine controllers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A wind farm typically consists of a group of interconnected windturbines disposed at a given farm site. The wind farm may include agroup of two wind turbines or a group of hundreds of wind turbines, withthe turbines being spread out over a small area (e.g., several hundredsquare meters) or over an extended area (e.g., hundreds of squarekilometers). As is generally understood, the farm site typicallycorresponds to a location or area that provides the desired amount ofwind exposure, which may be an offshore location or an onshore location.

The wind turbines within a wind farm are typically monitored andcontrolled using a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)system that is housed within a control station located at the wind farmsite. Specifically, for each wind farm installation, an individualcontrol station is typically built or installed at the site thatincludes a large amount of computing equipment, networking andcommunications equipment and other equipment that enables the SCADAsystem to locally monitor and control the operation of the windturbines. For example, the turbine controller housed within each windturbine may be communicatively coupled to various computing deviceslocated within the on-site control station. The control stationcomputing devices may then implement the SCADA system by collectingoperating data from the turbine controllers and transmitting controlsignals to the turbine controllers for controlling the operation oftheir corresponding wind turbines.

Unfortunately, the cost of installing the on-site control station istypically quite expensive. In addition, such cost is typically the sameregardless of whether ten wind turbines or two hundred wind turbines arecontained within the wind farm. Accordingly, on-site control stationsimplementing SCADA systems contribute significantly to the overallexpenses related to installing and maintaining a wind farm.

Thus, an improved system and method that allows for multiple wind farmsto be effectively and efficiently monitored and controlled from asingle, off-site SCADA system would be welcomed in the technology. Indoing so, a need also exists for the system and method to be able toaccommodate network connectivity issues between the off-site SCADAsystem and a given wind farm to ensure that the wind farm may continueto be maintained despite a loss of connection with the remote SCADAsystem.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in thefollowing description, or may be obvious from the description, or may belearned through practice of the invention.

In one aspect, the present subject matter is directed to a system formonitoring and controlling the operation of wind turbines located withina wind farm. The system may generally include a first wind turbine and asecond wind turbine located within the wind farm. The first wind turbinemay include a first turbine controller configured to monitor one or moreoperating parameters associated with the first wind turbine and providea first control interface for controlling the operation of the firstwind turbine. The second wind turbine may include a second turbinecontroller configured to monitor one or more operating parametersassociated with the second wind turbine and provide a second controlinterface for controlling the operation of the second wind turbine. Thesecond turbine controller may also include a processor and associatedmemory. The memory may store instructions that, when implemented by theprocessor, configure the second turbine controller to access data fromthe first turbine controller. In addition, the system may include anoff-site supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system locatedremote to the wind farm. The off-site SCADA system may include a servercommunicatively coupled to the first and second turbine controllers. Theserver may be configured to communicate control signals to the first andsecond turbine controllers in order to control the operation of thefirst and second wind turbines. Moreover, the off-site SCADA system maybe further configured to receive data associated with the operatingparameters monitored by the first and second turbine controllers.Further, when connectivity is lost between the wind farm and theoff-site SCADA system, the second turbine controller may be configuredto access data from the first turbine controller associated with the oneor more operating parameter of the first wind turbine in order tomonitor the operation of the first wind turbine.

In another aspect, the present subject matter is directed to a methodfor monitoring and controlling the operation of wind turbines containedwithin a wind farm, wherein the wind farm includes a first wind turbinehaving a first turbine controller and a second wind turbine having asecond turbine controller. The method may generally include receiving,with the first turbine controller, an indication of a loss ofconnectivity with an off-site supervisory control and data acquisition(SCADA) system configured to transmit control signals to the first andsecond turbine controllers for controlling the operation of the firstand second wind turbines. In addition, the method may include accessingdata from the second turbine controller associated with one or moreoperating parameters of the second wind turbine and providing access toa control interface of the second turbine controller.

In a further aspect, the present subject matter is directed to a systemfor monitoring and controlling the operation of wind turbines locatedwithin a wind farm. The system may generally include a first windturbine and a second wind turbine. The first wind turbine may include afirst turbine controller configured to monitor one or more operatingparameters associated with the first wind turbine and provide a firstcontrol interface for controlling the operation of the first windturbine. The second wind turbine may include a second turbine controllerconfigured to monitor one or more operating parameters associated withthe second wind turbine and provide a second control interface forcontrolling the operation of the second wind turbine. The second turbinecontroller may include a processor and associated memory. The memory maystore instructions that, when implemented by the processor, configurethe second turbine controller to provide access to the first controlinterface of the first turbine controller. In addition, the system mayinclude a secondary computing device communicatively coupled to thesecond turbine controller via a network. The second turbine controllermay be configured to provide the secondary computing device access tothe first control interface in order to allow the operation of the firstwind turbine to be controlled by the secondary computing device.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with reference to the followingdescription and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which areincorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrateembodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serveto explain the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including thebest mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is setforth in the specification, which makes reference to the appendedfigures, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of one embodiment of a windturbine;

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective, internal view of one embodiment of anacelle suitable for use with the wind turbine shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a simplified view of one embodiment of a system formonitoring and controlling the operation of wind turbines located withina wind farm in accordance with aspects of the present subject matter;

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic view of various components of the systemshown in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method formonitoring and controlling the operation of wind turbines located withina wind farm in accordance with aspects of the present subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention,one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Eachexample is provided by way of explanation of the invention, notlimitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be madein the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit ofthe invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as partof one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a stillfurther embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present inventioncovers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

In general, the present subject matter is directed to a system andmethod for monitoring and controlling the operation of wind turbineslocated within a wind farm. Specifically, in several embodiments, anoff-site supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system may beestablished at a given data or control center. The off-site SCADA systemmay then be communicatively coupled to one or more remote wind farms toallow the SCADA system to remotely monitor and control the operation ofthe various wind turbines contained within the wind farm(s).

By providing an off-site SCADA system that serves a plurality ofdifferent wind farms, the costs of installing and maintaining thecentralized control station may be shared amongst all of the wind farms,thereby reducing the overall costs to operate each individual wind farm.In addition, the shared off-site SCADA system may provide a moreefficient means of installing software upgrades, since the upgrade needonly be installed at the centralized control station as opposed to eachindividual on-site control station.

Additionally, in accordance with aspects of the present subject matter,each turbine controller within a given wind farm may be provided withsuitable computer-readable instructions or software that allows theturbine controller to implement locally one or more of the functions ofthe off-site SCADA system. As such, when connectivity is lost betweenthe SCADA system and the wind farm, any one of the turbine controllersmay be utilized to collect data associated with the operation of thevarious wind turbines within the wind farm and/or to provide access forcontrolling the operation of the various wind turbines. For example, thesoftware installed onto the turbine controllers may allow each turbinecontroller to provide an operator access (e.g., via an associatedcomputing device) to the Human-Machine Interface (HMI) (also referred toherein as the control interface) of every other turbine controllerwithin the wind farm (e.g. via a suitable link), thereby providing ameans for the operator to locally control the operation of each windturbine. In addition, the software installed onto the turbinecontrollers may allow each turbine controller to report or monitor oneor more operating parameters associated with the wind turbines locatedwithin the wind farm. For example, in one embodiment, each turbinecontroller may be configured access data from every other turbinecontroller that is associated with one or more key performanceindicators of every wind turbine within the wind farm, such as the faultstatus of each wind turbine, the rotational speed of each wind turbine,the wind speed at or adjacent to each wind turbine and/or the poweroutput of each wind turbine.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view ofone embodiment of a wind turbine 10 in accordance with aspects of thepresent subject matter. As shown, the wind turbine 10 generally includesa tower 12 extending from a support surface 14, a nacelle 16 mounted onthe tower 12, and a rotor 18 coupled to the nacelle 16. The rotor 18includes a rotatable hub 20 and at least one rotor blade 22 coupled toand extending outwardly from the hub 20. For example, in the illustratedembodiment, the rotor 18 includes three rotor blades 22. However, in analternative embodiment, the rotor 18 may include more or less than threerotor blades 22. Each rotor blade 22 may be spaced about the hub 20 tofacilitate rotating the rotor 18 to enable kinetic energy to betransferred from the wind into usable mechanical energy, andsubsequently, electrical energy. For instance, the hub 20 may berotatably coupled to an electric generator 24 (FIG. 2) positioned withinthe nacelle 16 to permit electrical energy to be produced.

The wind turbine 10 may also include a turbine control system or turbinecontroller 26 centralized within the nacelle 16 (or disposed at anyother suitable location within and/or relative to the wind turbine 10).In general, the turbine controller 26 may comprise a computer or othersuitable processing unit. Thus, in several embodiments, the turbinecontroller 26 may include suitable computer-readable instructions that,when implemented, configure the controller 26 to perform variousdifferent functions, such as receiving, transmitting and/or executingwind turbine control signals. As such, the turbine controller 26 maygenerally be configured to control the various operating modes (e.g.,start-up or shut-down sequences) and/or components of the wind turbine10. For example, the controller 26 may be configured to adjust the bladepitch or pitch angle of each rotor blade 22 (i.e., an angle thatdetermines a perspective of the blade 22 with respect to the directionof the wind) about its pitch axis 28 in order to control the rotationalspeed of the rotor blade 22 and/or the power output generated by thewind turbine 10. For instance, the turbine controller 26 may control thepitch angle of the rotor blades 22, either individually orsimultaneously, by transmitting suitable control signals to one or morepitch drives or pitch adjustment mechanisms 32 (FIG. 2) of the windturbine 10.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a simplified, internal view of one embodimentof the nacelle 16 of the wind turbine 10 shown in FIG. 1 is illustrated.As shown, a generator 24 may be disposed within the nacelle 16. Ingeneral, the generator 24 may be coupled to the rotor 18 for producingelectrical power from the rotational energy generated by the rotor 18.For example, as shown in the illustrated embodiment, the rotor 18 mayinclude a rotor shaft 38 coupled to the hub 20 for rotation therewith.The rotor shaft 38 may, in turn, be rotatably coupled to a generatorshaft 40 of the generator 24 through a gearbox 42. As is generallyunderstood, the rotor shaft 38 may provide a low speed, high torqueinput to the gearbox 42 in response to rotation of the rotor blades 22and the hub 20. The gearbox 42 may then be configured to convert the lowspeed, high torque input to a high speed, low torque output to drive thegenerator shaft 40 and, thus, the generator 24.

Additionally, as indicated above, the turbine controller 26 may also belocated within the nacelle 16 (e.g., within a control box or panel).However, in other embodiments, the turbine controller 26 may be locatedwithin any other component of the wind turbine 10 or at a locationoutside the wind turbine. As is generally understood, the turbinecontroller 26 may be communicatively coupled to any number of thecomponents of the wind turbine 10 in order to control the operation ofsuch components. For example, as indicated above, the turbine controller26 may be communicatively coupled to each pitch adjustment mechanism 32of the wind turbine 10 (one for each rotor blade 22) via a pitchcontroller 30 to facilitate rotation of each rotor blade 22 about itspitch axis 28.

In addition, the turbine controller 26 may also be communicativelycoupled to one or more sensors for monitoring various operatingparameters of the wind turbine 10. For example, in several embodiments,the wind turbine 10 may include one or more generator sensors 64configured to monitor one or more generator-related operating parametersof the wind turbine 10, such as the power output of the generator 24,the rotational speed of the generator 24, the generator torque and/orthe like. Similarly, the turbine controller 26 may be communicativelycoupled to one or more wind sensors 68 for monitoring one or more windconditions of the wind turbine 10, such as the wind speed, the winddirection, the turbulence or turbulence intensity of the wind and/or thelike.

Of course, the wind turbine 10 may further include various othersuitable sensors for monitoring any other suitable operating parametersof the wind turbine 10. For instance, the wind turbine 10 may includeone or more load sensors (not shown) for monitoring the loads acting onone or more of the wind turbine components (e.g., the loads acting onthe blades 22, the hub 22 and/or the tower 12), one or more shaftsensors (not shown) configured to monitor one or more shaft-relatedoperating parameters of the wind turbine 10 (e.g., the deflection or therotational speed of the rotor shaft 38) and/or the like. It should beappreciated that the various sensors described herein may correspond topre-existing sensors of a wind turbine 10 and/or sensors that have beenspecifically installed within the wind turbine 10 to allow one or moreoperating parameters to be monitored.

It should also be appreciated that, as used herein, the term “monitor”and variations thereof indicates that the various sensors of the windturbine 10 may be configured to provide a direct or indirect measurementof the operating parameters being monitored. Thus, the sensors may, forexample, be used to generate signals relating to the operating parameterbeing monitored, which can then be utilized by the turbine controller 26(or any other suitable controller or computing device) to determine theactual operating parameter.

Referring now to FIG. 3, one embodiment of a system 100 for monitoringand controlling the operation of wind turbines 10 located within a windfarm 102 is illustrated in accordance with aspects of the presentsubject matter. In general, the system 100 may include a wind farm 102containing a plurality of wind turbines 10 and an off-site supervisorycontrol and data acquisition (SCADA) system 104 commutatively coupled tothe wind turbines 10 located within the wind farm 102. In theillustrated embodiment, the wind farm 102 is simply shown as includingfour wind turbines 10. However, it should be readily appreciated bythose of ordinary skill in the art that the wind farm 102 may includeany other number of wind turbines 10, such as greater than four windturbines 10 or even less than four wind turbines 10. For instance, it iscommon for wind farms 102 to include fifty or more wind turbines 10 oreven one hundred or more wind turbines 10.

It should also be appreciated that each wind turbine 10 located withinthe wind farm 102 may generally be configured the same as or similar tothe wind turbine 10 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Forexample, each wind turbine 10 may include, a tower 12 extending from asupport surface 14, a nacelle 16 mounted on the tower 12, and a rotor 18coupled to the nacelle 16, with the rotor 18 comprising a rotatable hub20 and one or more rotor blades 22. Additionally, each wind turbine 10may include a turbine controller 26 configured to monitor the turbine'soperating parameters as well as provide a Human-Machine Interface (HMI)or control interface for controlling the operation of the wind turbine10.

In several embodiments, each turbine controller 26 may becommunicatively coupled to every other turbine controller 26 within thewind farm 102 via a local wind farm network 106. In general, the windfarm network 106 may correspond to any suitable wired or wirelessnetwork that allows the various turbine controllers 26 to communicatewith one another via any suitable communications protocol (e.g. TCP/IP,HTTP, SMTP, FTP) and/or using any suitable encodings/formats (e.g. HTML,XML) and/or protection schemes (e.g. VPN, secure HTTP, SSL). Forexample, in one embodiment, the wind farm network 106 may correspond toa local-area network (LAN).

As indicated above, the system 100 may also include an off-site SCADAsystem 104 located remote to the wind farm 102. For example, in severalembodiments, the SCADA system 104 may be located in a remote data orcontrol center 108, such as a data center dedicated to housing computingand networking/communications equipment. However, in other embodiments,the SCADA system 104 may be disposed at any other suitable remotelocation.

In general, the off-site SCADA system 104 may be configured to remotelyand dynamically monitor and/or control the operation of the various windturbines 10 located within the wind farm 102. Specifically, as will bedescribed below, the SCADA system 104 may include various components,such as one or more computing devices (e.g., one or more servers) and/orrelated networking/communications equipment, that allow the system 104to provide the functionality described herein. For example, theserver(s) may be configured to collect data from the various turbinecontrollers 26 that is associated with one or more of the monitoredoperating parameters of the wind turbines 10. In addition, the server(s)may be configured to provide a Human-Machine Interface (HMI) that allowsfor the presentation of the collected data to the remote operator of thewind farm 102. By using the HMI, the operator can both monitor andcontrol the operation of each wind turbine 10 within the wind farm 102.For example, based on the monitored operating parameter(s) of a givenwind turbine(s) 10, the operator may utilize the HMI to instruct theassociated turbine controller(s) 26 to adjust the operation of the windturbine(s) 10. In such instance, the server(s) may be configured totransmit a suitable control command(s) to the appropriate turbinecontroller(s) 26 in order to adjust the operation of the wind turbine(s)10 in accordance with the operator's instructions.

It should be appreciated that the off-site SCADA system 104 maygenerally serve as the “nerve center” for the wind farm 102.Specifically, the SCADA system 104 may be configured to continuouslyanalyze the performance-related information acquired from each turbinecontroller 26 and present such information to the operator via the HMI.As a result, the operator may be allowed to dynamically control theoperation of the various wind turbines 10 contained within the wind farm102. In addition, the SCADA system 104 may also be configured to storeall of the performance-related information provided by the turbinecontrollers 26, which may allow the system 104 to analyze theperformance of each wind turbine 10 over time. Such time-aggregated datamay allow for periodic maintenance and/or corrective actions to bescheduled/implemented as well as provide a means for monitoring the windfarm 102 with regard to its long-term performance requirements.

To provide for such remote data acquisition and operational control, itshould be appreciated that the off-site SCADA system 104 may generallybe configured to be coupled to each turbine controller 26 within thewind farm 102 (e.g., via the local wind farm network 106) through asuitable network 110. In general, the network 110 may correspond to anysuitable wired or wireless network that allows the SCADA system 104 tocommunicate with the various turbine controllers 26 via any suitablecommunications protocol (e.g. TCP/IP, HTTP, SMTP, FTP) and/or using anysuitable encodings/formats (e.g. HTML, XML) and/or protection schemes(e.g. VPN, secure HTTP, SSL). For example, in one embodiment, thenetwork 110 may correspond to a wide-area network (WAN).

It should also be appreciated that, although the system 100 has beengenerally described above with reference to a single wind farm 102, theassociated off-site SCADA system 104 may generally be configured to becommunicatively coupled to any number of wind farms 102. For example, asshown in FIG. 3, the SCADA system 104 may be configured to serve as the“nerve center” for a plurality of different wind farms 102 located at aplurality of different of locations such that the performance of everywind turbine located within the various wind farms 102 may be monitoredand controlled from a single location.

Additionally, in several embodiments, an operator of a given wind farm102 may be configured to communicate with both the off-site SCADA system104 and the individual turbine controllers 26 via a separate, clientcomputing device 150. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the clientdevice 150 may be configured to connect to the local farm network 106and/or the network 110, thereby allowing the device 150 to gain accessto the SCADA system 104 and/or the turbine controllers 26. For example,as will be described below, when network connectivity is lost betweenthe SCADA system 104 and the wind farm, the operator may utilize his/herclient device 150 to connect to one of the turbine controllers 26, whichmay then allow the operator to monitor the operation of every windturbine 10 within the wind farm 102 and/or gain access to the controlinterface provided by each turbine controller 26.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a schematic view of the system 100 shown inFIG. 3 is illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present subjectmatter. As shown in FIG. 4, the off-site SCADA system 104 may includeone or more servers 112 configured to communicate with each turbinecontroller 26 within the wind farm 102 via the network 110. Forinstance, in several embodiments, the SCADA system 104 may beimplemented within a server farm including a plurality of servers 112,with each server 112 being configured to communicate with the turbinecontrollers 26 located within one or more wind farms 102. In general,each server 112 may correspond to and/or may be associated with acomputing device or any other suitable processing unit. It should beappreciated that, as used herein, the term “server” may correspond tophysical computing devices or virtual machines hosted on physicalcomputing devices.

As particularly shown in FIG. 4, each server 112 may generally includeand/or may be associated with one or more processor(s) 114 andassociated memory 116 configured to perform a variety ofcomputer-implemented functions (e.g., performing the methods, steps,calculations and the like disclosed herein). As used herein, the term“processor” refers not only to integrated circuits referred to in theart as being included in a computer, but also refers to a controller, amicrocontroller, a microcomputer, a programmable logic controller (PLC),an application specific integrated circuit, and other programmablecircuits. Additionally, the memory 116 may generally comprise memoryelement(s) including, but are not limited to, computer readable medium(e.g., random access memory (RAM)), computer readable non-volatilemedium (e.g., a flash memory), a floppy disk, a compact disc-read onlymemory (CD-ROM), a magneto-optical disk (MOD), a digital versatile disc(DVD) and/or other suitable memory elements. Such memory 116 maygenerally be configured to store information accessible to theprocessor(s) 114, including data 118 that can be retrieved, manipulated,created and/or stored by the processor(s) 114 and instructions 120 thatcan be executed by the processor(s) 114.

In several embodiments, the data 118 may be stored in one or moredatabases. For example, the memory 116 may include a performancedatabase (not shown) including performance data collected for thevarious wind turbines 10 contained within a wind farm 102. Specifically,as indicated above, each turbine controller 26 may be configured tomonitor various operating parameters associated with the operatingperformance of its associated wind turbine 10. As such,performed-related data may be transmitted from each turbine controller26 to the server(s) 112 (e.g., via the network 110) and subsequentlystored within the performance database.

Additionally, in several embodiments, the instructions 120 stored withinthe memory 116 of each server 112 may be executed by the processor(s)114 to implement a SCADA module 122. In general, the SCADA module 122may be configured to allow the off-site SCADA system 104 to monitor andcontrol the operation of the various wind turbines 10 located within thewind farm 102. For example, the SCADA module 122 may be configured toreceive, sort and/or otherwise process the performance data transmittedfrom the turbine controllers 26. In addition, the SCADA module 122 maybe configured to provide a suitable HMI to allow an operator to view theperformance data associated with a given wind turbine(s) 10 and tocontrol the operation of such wind turbine(s) 10. For example, the SCADAmodule 122 may be configured to access the individual HMI or controlinterface of each turbine controller 26 and, based on suitable inputsprovided by the operator, transmit suitable control commands to theturbine controller 26 for adjusting the operation of its associated windturbine 10.

As shown in FIG. 4, each server 112 may also include a network orcommunications interface 124 to allow the server 112 to communicate overthe network 110. In general, the communications interface 124 maycorrespond to any suitable device/medium that allows the server 112 tointerface with the network 110.

Additionally, similar to the server(s) 112, each turbine controller 26may also include one or more processor(s) 130 and associated memory 132.Such memory 132 may generally be configured to store informationaccessible to the processor(s) 130, including data 134 that can beretrieved, manipulated, created and/or stored by the processor(s) 130and instructions 136 that can be executed by the processor(s) 130. Forexample, in several embodiments, the data 134 may be stored in one ormore databases, such as a performance database (not shown) storinginformation relating to one or more operating parameters of theassociated wind turbine 10.

Moreover, in several embodiments, the instructions 136 stored within thememory 132 of each turbine controller 26 may be executed by theprocessor(s) 130 to implement a back-up or secondary SCADA module 138.In general, the secondary SCADA module 138 may be configured to allowthe turbine controller 26 to locally perform the same or similarfunctions to those performed by the off-site SCADA system 104, which maybe particularly advantageous when the wind farm 102 has lostconnectivity to the SCADA system 104 (e.g., when the network 110 isdown). For example, the secondary SCADA module 138 may be configured toallow the turbine controller 26 to serve as a data acquisition unit forcollecting and/or monitoring the operating parameters of every windturbine 10 within the wind farm 102. In addition, the secondary SCADAmodule 138 may allow the turbine controller 26 to provide access to theHMI or control interface of every other turbine controller 26 connectedto the local wind farm network 106. For example, the secondary SCADAmodule 138 may provide a HMI or control interface that links to everyother HMI or control interface within the farm 102. As a result, thesecondary SCADA module 138 may serve as a means for an operator ortechnician to locally manage every wind turbine 10 within the wind farm102.

In one embodiment, the secondary SCADA module 138 implemented on a giventurbine controller 26 may be configured to provide the exact samefunctionality as the SCADA module 122 implemented by the server(s) 122running the off-site SCADA system 104. However, given the storage and/orprocessing limitations associated with many turbine controllers 26, thesecondary SCADA module 148 may, in alternative embodiments, correspondto a significantly lighter version of the SCADA module 122 beingimplemented by the server(s) 112. For example, in a particularembodiment, the secondary SCADA module 138 may only configure a giventurbine controller 26 to collect and/or monitor certain data from otherturbine controllers 26 within the wind farm 102 that is related to keyperformance indicators, such as the fault status of each wind turbine10, the wind speed associated with each wind turbine 10, the rotationaloperating speed of each wind turbine 10, the power output of each windturbine 10 and/or the like.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 4, each turbine controller 26 may alsoinclude a network or communications interface 140 for providingcommunications over the local wind farm network 106 and/or the network110. Similar to the interface 124 for the server(s) 112, thecommunications interface 140 may generally be any device/medium thatallows the turbine controller 26 to interface with the wind farm network106 and/or the network 110.

Additionally, as indicated above, a client device 150 may be configuredto connect to the local farm network 106 and/or the network 110 to allowan operator using the device 150 to remotely or locally communicate withthe server(s) 112 of the off-site SCADA system 104 and/or the individualturbine controllers 26. In general, the client device 150 may correspondto any suitable computing device or other suitable processing unit.Thus, the client device 150 may include one or more processor(s) 152 andassociated memory 154. Similar to the computing devices described above,the memory 154 may generally be configured to store informationaccessible to the processor(s) 152, including data that can beretrieved, manipulated, created and/or stored by the processor(s) 152and instructions that can be executed by the processor(s) 152.Additionally, as shown in FIG. 4, the client device 150 may include anetwork or communications interface 156 for providing communicationsover the local wind farm network 106 and/or the network 110.

In accordance with aspects of the present subject matter, the clientdevice 150 may be utilized by an operator to communicate with one ormore of the turbine controllers 26 when network connectivity between theSCADA system 104 and the wind farm 102 has been lost, thereby allowingthe operator to continue to monitor and control the wind turbines 10located within the wind farm 102. Specifically, in several embodiments,when network connectivity is lost, the client device 150 may beconfigured to communicate with one of the turbine controllers 26implementing the secondary SCADA module 138. As a result, the operatormay view the monitored operating parameters of every wind turbine 10within the wind farm 102 via the interface provided by the secondarySCADA module 138. In addition, as indicated above, implementation of thesecondary SCADA module 138 may allow the turbine controller 26 toprovide a link that enables an operator to access the control interfaceof every other turbine controller 26. Given such access, the operatormay then directly communicate with a given turbine controller 26 viahis/her client device 150 in order to control the operation of thecontroller's associated wind turbine 10.

Referring now to FIG. 5, one embodiment of a method 200 for monitoringand controlling wind turbines located within a wind farm is illustratedin accordance with aspects of the present subject matter. In general,the method 200 will be described herein with reference to the system 100described above with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, particularly in aninstance in which connectivity has been lost between the off-site SCADAsystem 104 and the wind farm 102. However, it should be appreciated thataspects of the the disclosed method 200 may be utilized in any instance,regardless of connectivity issues, to allow an operator to communicatewith one or more turbine controllers 26 in order to monitor and/orcontrol the operation of all or a portion of the wind turbines 10located within a wind farm 102. In addition, although FIG. 5 depictssteps performed in a particular order for purposes of illustration anddiscussion, the methods discussed herein are not limited to anyparticular order or arrangement. One skilled in the art, using thedisclosures provided herein, will appreciate that various steps of themethods disclosed herein can be omitted, rearranged, combined, and/oradapted in various ways without deviating from the scope of the presentdisclosure.

As shown in FIG. 5, at (202), the method 200 includes receiving, with aturbine controller located within the wind farm (hereinafter referred toas the “first turbine controller”), an indication of a loss ofconnectivity between the wind farm and an off-site SCADA system. Ingeneral, any suitable signal or input may provide the indication thatthere has been a loss of connectivity between the wind farm 102 and theoff-site SCADA system 104. For example, in one embodiment, each turbinecontroller 26 may be configured to automatically sense or detect whenthe data connection to the off-site SCADA system 104 is lost.Alternatively, the indication may correspond to an operator inputreceived by one of the turbine controllers 26. For example, in the eventof connectivity issues, an operator may instruct one of the turbinecontrollers 26 to execute the instructions 136 stored within its memory132 to implement the associated secondary SCADA module 138 so as toprovide a means for monitoring and/or controlling the operation of oneor more of the wind turbines 10 located within the wind farm 102.

Additionally, at (204), the method 200 includes accessing, with thefirst turbine controller, data from a second turbine controller withinthe farm that is related to one or more operating parameters for a windturbine associated with the second turbine controller. Specifically, asindicated above, the secondary SCADA module 138 may allow each turbinecontroller 26 to monitor all or a select few of the operating parametersof every wind turbine 10 within the wind farm 102, such as byconfiguring a given turbine controller 26 to monitor one or more keyperformance indicators of the wind turbines 10. As a result, an operatorconnected to the first turbine controller (e.g., via his/her clientdevice 150) may access and view the operating parameter(s) associatedwith each wind turbine 10 within the wind farm 102.

Moreover, at (206), the method 200 includes providing, with the firstturbine controller, access to a control interface of the second turbinecontroller. Specifically, as indicated above, implementation of thesecondary SCADA module 138 may allow each turbine controller 26 toprovide a link to the HMI or control interface of every other turbinecontroller 26 connected to the local wind farm network 106. Suchinterface linking may then allow the operator (via his/her client device150) to gain access to the control interface of another turbinecontroller 26. As a result, the operator may view and interact with thecontrol interface of the other turbine controller 26, thereby allowingthe operator to directly control the operation of the wind turbine 10associated with such other turbine controller 26 via the client device150.

It should be appreciated that aspects of the present subject matter havebeen described herein with reference to an operator communicating withone or more turbine controllers 26 via his/her client device 150 inorder to monitor and/or control the operation of any number of windturbines 10 located within a wind farm 102. However, in otherembodiments, the secondary SCADA module 138 implemented by a giventurbine controller 26 may allow the controller 26 to access the controlinterface of another turbine controller 26 within the wind farm 102 andsubsequently autonomously control the operation of the wind turbine 10associated with such other turbine controller 26. Specifically, theturbine controller 26 implementing the secondary SCADA module 138 may beprovided with a list of maximum/minimum operating parameters and/orother triggers that may be referenced by the controller 26 whenmonitoring the operating parameters of the other wind turbines 10 withinthe wind farm 102. In such an embodiment, if an operating parameter fora given wind turbine exceeds a predetermined maximum or falls below apredetermined minimum defined such parameter (or if any other triggerevent occurs), the controller 26 may be configured to gain access to thecontrol interface associated with the wind turbine 10 and automaticallyimplement one or more corrective actions in order to adjust theoperation of the wind turbine 10.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the invention, including making and using any devices orsystems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope ofthe invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examplesthat occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intendedto be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elementsthat do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if theyinclude equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differencesfrom the literal languages of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for monitoring and controlling theoperation of wind turbines located within a wind farm, the systemcomprising: a first wind turbine located within the wind farm, the firstwind turbine including a first turbine controller configured to monitorone or more operating parameters associated with the first wind turbineand provide a first control interface for controlling the operation ofthe first wind turbine; a second wind turbine located within the windfarm, the second wind turbine including a second turbine controllerconfigured to monitor one or more operating parameters associated withthe second wind turbine and provide a second control interface forcontrolling the operation of the second wind turbine, the second turbinecontroller including a processor and associated memory, the memorystoring instructions that, when implemented by the processor, configurethe second turbine controller to access data from the first turbinecontroller; and an off-site supervisory control and data acquisition(SCADA) system located remote to the wind farm, the off-site SCADAsystem including a server communicatively coupled to the first andsecond turbine controllers, the server being configured to communicatecontrol signals to the first and second turbine controllers in ordercontrol the operation of the first and second wind turbines, theoff-site SCADA system being further configured to receive dataassociated with the one or more operating parameters monitored by thefirst and second turbine controllers, wherein, when connectivity is lostbetween the wind farm and the off-site SCADA system, the second turbinecontroller is configured to access data from the first turbinecontroller associated with the one or more operating parameter of thefirst wind turbine order to monitor the operation of the first windturbine.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more operatingparameters comprise at least one of a fault status of the first windturbine, a wind speed associated with the first wind turbine, arotational operating speed associated with the first wind turbine or apower output of the first wind turbine.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when implemented bythe processor, configure the second turbine controller to provide accessto the first control interface of the first turbine controller.
 4. Thesystem of claim 3, further comprising a secondary computing devicecommunicatively coupled to the second turbine controller via a network,the second turbine controller being configured to provide the secondarycomputing device access to the first control interface of the firstturbine controller in order to allow the operation of the first windturbine to be controlled by the secondary computing device.
 5. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the first turbine controller includes aprocessor and associated memory, the memory storing instructions that,when implemented by the processor, configure the first turbinecontroller to access data from the second turbine controller associatedwith the one or more operating parameters of the second wind turbine andto provide access to the second control interface of the second turbinecontroller.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the wind farm includes aplurality of wind turbines, each wind turbine including a turbinecontroller configured to provide a control interface for controlling theoperation of the associated wind turbine, wherein the second turbinecontroller is configured to access data associated with one or moreoperating parameters of the each of the plurality of wind turbines andto also provide access the control interface of each turbine controllerof the wind farm.
 7. The system of claim 1, further comprising aplurality of wind farms located remote to the off-site SCADA system,wherein the server is communicatively coupled to turbine controllerscontained within each of the plurality of wind farms.
 8. A system formonitoring and controlling the operation of wind turbines located withina wind farm, the system comprising: a first wind turbine including afirst turbine controller configured to monitor one or more operatingparameters associated with the first wind turbine and provide a firstcontrol interface for controlling the operation of the first windturbine; and a second wind turbine including a second turbine controllerconfigured to monitor one or more operating parameters associated withthe second wind turbine and provide a second control interface forcontrolling the operation of the second wind turbine, the second turbinecontroller including a processor and associated memory, the memorystoring instructions that, when implemented by the processor, configurethe second turbine controller to provide access to the first controlinterface of the first turbine controller; and a secondary computingdevice communicatively coupled to the second turbine controller via anetwork, wherein the second turbine controller is configured to providethe secondary computing device access to the first control interface inorder to allow the operation of the first wind turbine to be controlledby the secondary computing device.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein thesecond turbine controller is configured to receive an indicationassociated with a loss of connectivity with an off-site supervisorycontrol and data acquisition (SCADA) system located remote to the windfarm,
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein, upon receipt of the indicationof the loss of connectivity, the second turbine controller is configuredto provide the secondary computing device access to the first controlinterface in order to control the operation of the first wind turbine.11. The system of claim 8, wherein the second turbine controller isconfigured to provide the secondary computing device a link to the firstturbine controller over the network.
 12. The system of claim 8, whereinthe memory further stores instructions that, when implemented by theprocessor, configure the second turbine controller to access data fromthe first turbine controller associated with the one or more operatingparameters of the first wind turbine.
 13. The system of claim 12,wherein the one or more operating parameters comprise at least one of afault status of the first wind turbine, a wind speed associated with thefirst wind turbine, a rotational operating speed associated with thefirst wind turbine or a power output of the first wind turbine.
 14. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the first turbine controller includes aprocessor and associated memory, the memory storing instructions that,when implemented by the processor, configure the first turbinecontroller to access data from the second turbine controller associatedwith the one or more operating parameters of the second wind turbine andto provide the secondary computing device access to the second controlinterface of the second turbine controller.
 15. The system of claim 8,wherein the system includes a plurality of wind turbines, each windturbine including a turbine controller configured to provide a controlinterface for controlling the operation of the associated wind turbine,wherein the second turbine controller is configured to provide thesecondary computing device access to the control interface of eachturbine controller of the wind farm.
 16. A method for monitoring andcontrolling the operation of wind turbines located within a wind farm,the wind farm including a first wind turbine having a first turbinecontroller and a second wind turbine having a second turbine controller,the method comprising: receiving, with the first turbine controller, anindication of a loss of connectivity with an off-site supervisorycontrol and data acquisition (SCADA) system configured to transmitcontrol signals to the first and second turbine controllers forcontrolling the operation of the first and second wind turbines;accessing, with the first turbine controller, data from the secondturbine controller associated with one or more operating parameters ofthe second wind turbine; and providing, with the first turbinecontroller, access to a control interface of the second turbinecontroller.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the one or moreoperating parameters comprise at least one of a fault status of thefirst wind turbine, a wind speed associated with the first wind turbine,a rotational operating speed associated with the first wind turbine or apower output of the first wind turbine
 18. The method of claim 16,further comprising providing a secondary computing devicecommunicatively coupled to the first turbine controller access to thedata.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein providing access to thecontrol interface of the second turbine controller comprises providing asecondary computing devices communicatively coupled to the first turbinecontroller access to the control interface of the second turbinecontroller.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein the wind farm includes aplurality of wind turbines, each wind turbine including a turbinecontroller configured to provide a control interface for controlling theoperation of the associated wind turbine, wherein the first turbinecontroller is configured to access data from each turbine controller ofthe wind farm associated with one or more operating parameters of eachof the plurality of wind turbines and provide access to the controlinterface of each turbine controller of the wind farm.